ADBC: 30 – Let Me Tell You A Story About Telling Stories

Here’s the premise of the conversation.

Previously in the conversation: The dangerous connection between the fool and evil is uncovered in a way that truly needs to be appreciated today. The tangled web of hypocrisy regarding the use of the term political is revealed in a way that truly needs to be appreciated today. Then there’s this bit about war. Now it sounds rather topical amidst recent events, but seriously you should read what Hesediah has to say on the concept of a just war and if war really is good for nothing. There’s no doubt in my mind that Hesediah’s reflections are truly marvellous and I urge and encourage you to read them and share them.

How the conversation works is after engaging in my questions like it’s his favourite dinner, my brother then belches and offers me some questions of my own to answer. I say belch, of course, because as you know a belch is far richer and deeper than a burp and is a sign of the glorious enjoyment of what was consumed. Hesediah does superb belches. In any case, let’s see if I can avoid making a meal out of his questions, here goes:

Q – The COVID narrative for the past two years. The current Russia vs Ukraine (and NATO) war. 9/11. Some financial crash in the late 2000s. What do you learn or relearn from all these narratives that are widely spread by politicians and media companies?

Interesting question. Life is about narratives. On a personal level, on a family level, on a community level, on a cultural level and beyond. As you rightly point out, living in England over our lifetimes has seen a number of narratives dominate the landscape.

I was born in 1977 and was consciously aware of things from the early 80s. At that time the prevailing narrative was about how certain ‘socialist’ elements and post-war narratives which held occupations like mining as sacrosanct needed to face the ‘reality’ of modern moves that finished those industries and replaced them with more of the service industry. Then there was supposed to be something fresh and new with New Labour, but that was soon squelched by the culture wars of the early 2000s with wars on terror and other things erupting from that. Just when you thought it was safe to actually take a break the economic crisis hit from around 2008. And the narrative was about financial measures that had to be put in place and the like. Then of course there was Brexit which consumed a lot of cultural oxygen from 2014 onwards and then of course COVID and now the conflict in Eastern Europe.

The purpose of a narrative is what it does for those who control it and the messages they seek to spread and infiltrate into the hearts and minds of those who pay attention. It’s not just about paying attention, it’s about control and power through whatever means are accessible. It arouses emotions and stirs feelings and captures people’s whole demeanour whether on one side of an argument or another. In doing so, it also shapes people’s thinking processes and outcomes. And in doing that it effectively distracts people from what matters in life. It’s not about wisdom, justice, peace, mercy, righteousness, joy and love developed between peoples. That is not the aim. It’s not about seeking to understand and reach a basis on which conversation and the sharing of life can take place in respect, honour and harmony. It is, rather, to impose and imply that certain forces and actions are doing certain things that should engender a certain response from you and your capacity to comply and oblige with that marks you and then marks others as either being with you or against you.

Also as the narratives are controlled it works better if people don’t dig too deeply beneath the surface. It works better if you don’t approach matters from a perspective of looking to discern godly wisdom in the situation. That just leads to all kinds of unpleasant realities that indicate that perhaps the time was better spent pursuing whatever is true, noble, right, pure, excellent, admirable, lovely and/or praiseworthy whilst also endeavouring to live a life according to those values and principles of righteousness and justice.

What I learn from these experiences as well as I grow is that I don’t have to be caught up in the narrative. I don’t have to accept whatever I’m told from whatever authority it’s shared. I don’t have to take it and I don’t have to be consumed by it. There are agendas at work, some of which are relatively unavoidable. Just because that is the case, I am still responsible for how I engage with it. I am responsible for what I take into my thinking and for what comes from that thinking. I am also responsible for the conversations I cultivate with others and the actions I commit. Awareness of the bigger narratives that seek to trap me in a state of dependence, fear and anxiety whilst pushing me into entertainment and leisure as methods of ‘escape’ do not have to define my life and leave me as overindulged, pathetic and hopeless as those narratives implicitly look to produce. I don’t have to pursue escape. I can live in peace if I learn to focus on the right things and see life from that perspective.

Q –  The spirit of Babylon, Greece and Rome hasn’t died. What are your thoughts on this comment? Is it false? I’m not asking for expert opinion, but your current understanding of the vibes of these cultures, their politics and religion. If the statement is true, in what way? If false, then why?

Babylon, Greece and Rome. Cultural takeover. Intellectual takeover. Political takeover. Conquest to rule by force and by influence. By military and by education. Counterfeit religiosity looks to adapt, accommodate and infiltrate all that it touches so that it is indelibly marked by the primary culture. How could this spirit ever die? These aren’t spirits just associated with those locations in the prime of their influence. These are reflections of the inclinations of man that refuses to acknowledge the rule of God.

The desire to dominate and the rule is decadent and degraded to dominating and ruling others by force and influence. You could refer to Egypt as well in terms of historical empires. In modern days you can look at the impact certain empires and revolutions have had in affecting the lives of others. The industrial revolution, the age of enlightenment, the rise and fall of the American empire, the narrative of world conflicts, the economic models for conquest in consumer culture. All of these can be read in their own to perpetuate the spirit of those ages.

Q – The story of the frog and scorpion (ask me privately if you don’t know it, or find it & read a short read). It ends by stating some creatures are, by nature, compelled to hurt you, even if it kills themselves in the process. There is a motto to the story. Do you think this story reflects real life and some aspect of human nature? Or it is based on misunderstanding and cut off from reality? Please share your reasoning.

“I can’t help myself.” “You know what I’m like.” “Typical you.” “This comes as no surprise, it’s what I’ve come to expect from you.” These sentiments and others give the impression that what the scorpion and frog refer to is somewhat reflective of reality. I even believe it determines how some of us as humans operate. We get an idea of behaviour patterns and based on that we trust individuals to do certain things. Indeed when you consider marketing campaigns they are based on careful research on how will human beings respond to certain stimuli. Indeed you can look at the way certain cultures are developed and attribute certain traits to those cultures and shouldn’t be surprised if they retain those attributes under considerable pressure. To put that in a given scenario, if you were in a position of being a Member of Parliament, you would see what the common behaviours are among those who are influential in Parliament and get to a point where whatever the situation, you can rely on them to behave in that manner.

With particular reference to the frog and scorpion, you know what it reminds me of where the human condition is concerned is reliance on the representative democratic method. Every four years people ask you to support them into a system that’s supposed to work in your best interests, even though they are not designed to do that and in a large number of cases are only designed to maintain a system that feeds off people believing it works for them. Every generation is disappointed to varying degrees and every generation is given a reason to hope in it and every generation encourages the one that follows to trust the system. So the cycle goes.

Having said all of that, this story does not reflect the full range of the human experience. This story gives the impression that in essence humans will always revert to their character because it’s their nature. There are clearly occasions where the characteristics of a person can change. There are instances where someone’s predisposition changes and they don’t revert to what they knew. There is something about some people’s efforts and the hope they have that people can change that implies that we don’t have to live with a world-weary sense that what is will always be. Of course, sadly, this does work in both ways in terms of what’s good and what’s evil. I believe people’s predispositions can change. But it takes a lot to do it.

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Writing and conversing does not have to be empty. It can be challenging, stimulating and productive to worthy things in life. More than most, you bring that out in the answers you give and the questions you ask. Thanks for that, bro.

Here are some questions for you:

Q – Liberty is a myth often used to draw people into greater degrees of subjection. Discuss.

Q – What is the role of instruction and commanding in the home as well as being a good example? How can people learn to be effective in instructing and commanding?

Q – “Why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.” (Batman Begins) Fiction about fiction in life should instigate change rather than reinforce the fiction. Is this a reasonable expectation? Express your own views on the fiction that is allowed to persist

A pleasure doing conversational business with you, Hesediah. Thanks for your time.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

C. L. J. Dryden